At the beginning of 2013 I made a promise to myself that I would do more of the things I want to do and simply have new experiences. Once I spoke it out into the ether, I could feel myself become open to the different opportunities that would come. A few of them being going to SXSW last minute, forcing myself to buy a ticket to Brazil, and more recently selling my prints at an art market.
One of the most exciting events that speaks to my desire of new experiences was my talk at MoAd. Early last May I was invited by Inneract Project (an organization that exposes young minorities to design) to share my design experiences in their lecture series. As you know diversity in design is one my creative missions, so it was a no brainer that I would participate.
It was an amazing honor to be a part of this series. I really enjoyed sharing my story; and connecting with a range of wonderful people, like other design professors, design professionals, students, and Fly fans was the best part of the whole event. In the end I was floating and I knew I wanted to have more opportunities like this.
Which brings me to how this lovely experience highlighted a flaw of mine. Just days after the flight back east, after the unpacking and the conversations with family and friends about the lecture, I was already thinking about what's next. I still hadn't even fully processed my amazing time in San Francisco, let alone give myself a moment to enjoy what I had done, or acknowledge the achievement. My sleep-deprived ever-moving mind was beginning to pack up that memory in a box so I could focus on generating ideas to do more.
It's only natural to want more of something when things go well, that excitement pushes us to seek more. But for me "more" seemed too soon. It didn't seem right that I was still feeling tired from the trip and having to get through the work week, but already overwhelming my mind with how to do more.
Artists, creative people in general, suffer from this. The never-enough syndrome. Of course we should never stop creating, we should always challenge ourselves, but there has to be time to process, to say thank you, to replenish, and just be.
It's hard, because that's not how my mind works, but I have to work on it because it's a terrible drain on the creative battery.
My fellow creatives, do you suffer from this problem? If so how do you manage the balance of wanting more while appreciating what you have now?
